First Start

I temporarily hooked up all the gauges on the dashboard, and tried a first start.  She turned over but no signs of firing.

A phonecall to Dave at CANEMS soon had her fired up once he uploaded a basic map for the LS7.  She will get properly mapped once down beside him on the rolling road.

I realised that the thermostat wasn't opening, so I removed it from the housing and using a kettle I confirmed that it was very sticky.  New one on order!

Oil Catch Cans

I finally got around to installing the oil catch cans.  I couldn't really decide where I wanted to fit these, but ended up fitting them just above the alternator on the passenger side.  Care will have to be taken when draining them down not to spill any of the collected oil...

I made a stainless bush and bracket to mount these to the cylinder head, also using the supplied twin bracket.  I used AN-6 fittings and hose to connect it all together.  Once mounted, and by following a diagram detailing the "dirty" side and "clean" sides, I ran the hose as neatly as I could, cut it to length and fitted the ends.  The only difference between my LS7 and the diagram is that the driver's side rocker cover only has 1 vent point so I used a T-piece to join to the passenger's side rocker cover.  I just have a few more clips to fit to ensure the hose doesn't move.

Power Steering

It seems like I haven't had much time in the garage over the last few months, what with school holidays, trying to be out and about while the weather is still good and other activities.  I have however managed some time so will try and provide an update as to what I have done.

I started working on the power steering column again.  I thought I'd be best to get the polished stainless cover to fit along with the stainless steel stalks.

The Corsa steering column took a bit to modify to allow the GD supplied stainless cover to fit.  Some of the plastic had to be cut off - this was done using a multi tool.  I trimmed just enough so that the cover would fit.  Interestingly, the bolt holes line up perfectly, which must be the same as the GD supplied Vectra column.

Since I am not using a key, I removed the ignition barrel, and also the steering lock mechanism.  I am using the CANEMS immobiliser and also a Battery Brain which has a battery cut off controlled with a remote.  I think that this covers the requirements of the IVA for disabling the car so I don't need the steering lock....

Since my Corsa column is adjustable, I had to trim the adjuster lever, and thread it to allow fitment of the GD supplied end.  This also meant that I had to modify the underside of the stainless cover to allow the lever to move.  The edges have been smoothed over with a file.  I also made an aluminium blank to cover the key hole in the aluminium cover, so it won't indent when covered with the leather.

I bought new indicator and wiper stalks for a Vectra B, since the Corsa ones are for a CANBUS system.  The Vectra B ones fit exactly into the Corsa column.  I cut the plastic stalks off, tapped out the holes to M6, and fitted the GD supplied stainless stalks.  I plan to use the wiring plug off the Vectra to plug into the new stalks, I just have to order new terminals to crimp onto the GD wiring.

When I had the steering column temporarily in the car, I marked and tack welded the Corsa universal joint to the GD supplied steering column assembly.  This has new been fully welded and tested to ensure that it won't fail during operation.

The next thing to do is to make the GD supplied aluminium steering wheel boss fit the Corsa column.  Typically, this is greatly different from the Vectra column.  The Corsa column has a bigger diameter spline, so the boss will require machining out, and new splines cut.  I will provide an update once this has been done.  I will be using the Corsa steering wheel for now.....